Dwell on Design Conference Program

Dwell on Design Conference Friday 26 June.

The Dwell on Design Conference is literally ”Dwell magazine come to life” – where the Dwell Editors interpret the pages of the magazine live on stage with interviews, discussion panels and mixed media presentations. The conference includes the same diversity of subject matter explored in Dwell magazine; rather than focus on a single conference “theme” we explore Real, Live, Modern Design in all its forms.

Dwell on Design 2009 is our fourth year of bringing leading thinkers together to discuss design innovation and our speaker lineup will prove to be as exciting as ever.

The entire conference program below including Keynote Speaker Daniel Pink and the Restaurant Design Awards is included in the Dwell Conference Plus and Dwell VIP Passport tickets. See our Tickets Explained page.

09:45-10:00

Welcome

10:00-10:30

My House

My House is an insider’s look from homeowner-architects at not only what it’s like living with modern design, but what it took to get there. On this panel we sit down with a pair of Southern California’s leading builders, architects, teachers and craftsmen to learn how they get things done affordably, sustainably and efficiently. Kicking back in a modern dream house is just half the story as we get to root of designing, building and completing two unique homes adored by the editors of Dwell.

Jeremy Levine

Principal

Jeremy Levine Design
Los Angeles, CA

Christopher Puzio
Artist, Designer
Spacecraft Gallery

San Diego, CA

Moderator:

Aaron Britt

Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

In the Modern World

Trends may come and go, but Zoë Melo's career working in the creative fashion, photography, art and product worlds has given her a professional perspective on future-thinking to develop successful design: commercially, socially, and sustainably. She runs her own consulting firm and is a founding partner at Touch, a Los Angeles gallery and showroom specializing in handcrafted, artisan goods.

Zoë Melo

Principal

zoëmelo / TOUCH

Los Angeles, CA

10:35-11:10

Conversations: Design in the Media

Dwell's editors are diligent detectives always on the search for good design. But just as there are strategies for maximizing a home's energy efficiency or the upping the amount of recycled material that go into producing a product, there are ways to increase the likelihood of your work hitting our wavelengths, too. Whether your audience is paging through newspapers and magazines, tuning in to the radio, or reading up online--or, most likely, doing all three--we'll walk you through a 101 on how to best present your projects to the design press to make sure they get noticed.

Craig Nakano

Home Editor
LA Times
Los Angeles, CA

Paul Petrunia

Founder/Director
Archinect
Los Angeles, CA

Frances Anderton

Host, DnA KCRW

Los Angeles Editor

Dwell

Los Angeles, CA

Moderator:

Miyoko Ohtake

Associate Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA
Read more...

In the Modern World

As the executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, Linda Dishman implicitly knows the importance of preserving the unique architectural history of this unique southern California cultural captial. She will discuss her work educating the public and raising awareness around revitalizing LA's historic landmarks.

Linda Dishman

Executive Director
Los Angeles Conservancy
Los Angeles, CA

11:15-12:00

Dwellings: Embracing the New Density

For five decades and more "home" in LA has meant a single-family home. But in recent years that has been changing, as multi-family living, in a modern style, has become an increasingly popular option in a fast-densifying region. On this panel, we will look at a new twist on that model: mixed-use, multi-family developments across the Southland, in which condos or apartments share space with retail, or hotels or restaurants. We'll hear from the developers of these projects about what it means in terms of design, and domestic life, to live over the mall, or the hotel or the restaurant. And we'll ask: what's been the impact of the recession on these kinds of living experiences?

Bret Nielsen

Senior Vice President, Leasing

Caruso Affiliated

Los Angeles, CA

Bret Mosher

President
MKT Community Development

Newport Beach, CA
Read more...

Marty Collins

President and CEO

Gatehouse Capital

Dallas, TX

Moderator:

Frances Anderton

Los Angeles Editor

Dwell

Los Angeles, CA

12:00-12:45

Square Meal on the Street

Typical street food in American cities has long been associated with a limited menu of greasy hot dogs, soft pretzels, and barely passable tacos. But as adventurous chefs give up the heat of restaurant kitchens for the experimental territory of mobile eateries, urbanites are finding a much wider array—and a much higher quality—a food on the go. In this session we look at how the unpredictable atmosphere of street-side dining and the advent of social technology have turned the dreaded "roach coach" into a sought-out destination.

Kam Miceli

Owner

Green Truck

Los Angeles, CA

Read more...

Larry Bain

Co-Founder
Let's Be Frank
Culver City, CA

Sue Moore

Co-Founder
Let's Be Frank
Culver City, CA

Christopher Rutherford
Co-Founder
Saveourtacotrucks.org
Los Angeles, CA

Read more...

Moderator:

Sarah Rich

Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

12:45-1:45

LUNCH BREAK

In the Modern World

Tino Schaedler will be representing the Art Directors' Guild at Dwell on Design. He is uniquely qualified to discuss the intersection of architecture and art direction, and he is well-versed in the stories that emerge through the development and creation of these wildly variant environments. Trained as an architect, he worked in the offices of Daniel Libeskind and Barkow Leibinger before heeding the sirens’ call of Hollywood and taking his expertise to the movies, doing digital set design and production on large-scale silver screen productions.

Tino Schaedler

Art Directors Guild

Los Angeles, CA

1:50-2:15

Conversation: Peter Jon Pearce

As a student at ITT in the late 1950’s Peter Jon Pearce’s molded plywood chair caught the attention of Charles Eames, and soon the young graduate was at work designing future classics at the Eames Office—including the La Fonda Chair and Tandem seating. With a restless intellect, and inexhaustible curiosity, Pearce’s post-Eames career has taken many paths—from the scientific study of nature’s design principles to the exploration of the outer reaches of space frames. Join him as he discusses his latest project, The Pearce Eco-House, a pre-fab and zero-energy home design that is the culmination of a lifetime exploring the limits of what design can do.

Peter Jon Pearce

Principal

Peter Jon Pearce Design

Malibu, CA

Moderator:

Sam Grawe

Editor-in-Chief

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

2:15-3:10

Off the Grid

"Gridlock" can be interpreted in more ways than one in Los Angeles, where sprawl, water scarcity, and car culture beget a very grid-dependent way of life. But many Angelenos are interested in lightening their ecological footprints, and a number of companies and organizations in town are helping to make it easier. Panelists representing the city of LA, the non-profit sector, and green entrepreneurship will talk about working towards a more sustainable Los Angeles, and the green-collar jobs that are getting us there.

Philippe Hartley

Founder

Phat Energy

Los Angeles, CA

Spencer Campbell

Natural Resources Defense Council

Jose Gutierrez
Environmental Supervisor
EnvironmentLA (ELA)
Los Angeles, CA

Read more...

Moderator:

Sarah Rich

Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

3:10-3:30

Conversation: Peter Walker

How many times have you heard an architect say, “this building is all about the context”? Join legendary landscape architect Peter Walker as he discusses the role landscape plays in creating context for the buildings we love. For decades Walker’s award-winning Berkeley-based firm PWP, has collaborated with a laundry list of starchitects, from Norman Foster and Renzo Piano, to Werner Sobek and Frank Gehry, to create landscapes which integrate, extrapolate, and inform.

Peter Walker

Founder, Principal

Peter Walker and Partners

Berkeley, CA

Moderator:

Sam Grawe

Editor-in-Chief

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

3:30-3:35

World-renowned author and president of global development for Starbucks discusses new approaches to green retail design and a new retail design paradigm that puts a company’s values first.

Arthur Rubinfeld

President,

Global Development

Starbucks Coffee Company, Seattle, WA

Moderator:

Aaron Britt

Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

3:35-3:55

BREAK

3:55

In the Modern World

How do the spaces we create impact the way we live? Documentary filmmaker Bill Ferehawk will discuss the influence of our built environments through his work with the non-profit group SMIBE-- Society for Moving Images about the Built Environment-- and his architecturally-focused projects as a founding partner at Radiant Features, an Los Angeles-based independent documentary film company.

Bill Ferehawk

Director, Radiant Features

Board Member, SMIBE

Los Angeles, CA

4:00-4:15

Archive: William Krisel

Archive is where we page back through the history of architecture and design to highlight the often-undersung talents that have shaped our modern world. They may have worked in the offices of celebrated luminaries, or left indelibly modern marks on small corners of the globe, but their contributions to the world of design are manifest.
Architect and Landscape architect William Krisel is one such designer, a man responsible for tens of thousands of homes in Southern California (he’s a proper celebrity in Palm Springs) and a fount of history and wisdom who has never been afraid to take a stand on the issues of the day.

William Krisel, AIA

Architect

Los Angeles, CA

Moderator:

Aaron Britt

Editor

Dwell

San Francisco, CA
Read more...

4:15-4:30

Kitchen Ecology with Birgit Lohmann

Birgit Lohmann

Editor-in-Chief

designboom

Milan, Italy

Moderator:

Sam Grawe

Editor-in-Chief

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

4:30-4:35

In the Modern World

4:35-5:00

Design Matters with Yves Behar

Yves Behar

Founder and Principal

fuseproject

San Francisco, CA

Moderator:

Sam Grawe

Editor-in-Chief

Dwell

San Francisco, CA

5:00-5:15

BREAK

5:15-6:00

Keynote Presentation: Daniel Pink

Daniel Pink

Betselling Author

The Surprising Science of Motivation and Creativity:

How do we motivate ourselves and others to perform at a higher level?

In his provocative and entertaining presentation, Daniel Pink, bestselling author of A WHOLE NEW MIND, will answer those questions by exploring the surprising science of human motivation. Drawing on startling studies and real-life examples, he'll show that much of what we do in organizations actually crushes creativity. He'll reveal the three elements at the heart of genuine, sustainable motivation. And he'll explain how to create a culture that allows creatives to do their best work.

End of Conference.

6:00-6:30

Restaurant Design Awards produced by AIA/LA

The above schedule and program is subject to edits and updates without notice.